Happy 195th Birthday to the War of 1812

[PeteMurray]

On this Day in History, the plucky, egalitarian Americans, tired of having their hard-won commerce stolen by King George and his ubiquitous toy boat flotilla, declared war on Great Britain and kicked off the War of 1812. They then proceeded to get their butt kicked by Canadian farmers and half of the Indian Nations of North America.

This is my absolute favorite war of history, period, because it's a military disaster from one end to the other for all sides, except for a few minor incidents. And one of these highlights happens in my beloved city of Baltimore. For wargamers it can't be beat, because it lets you do some of the fun of Napoleonics without having to contend with the Napoleonic "experts" who have to be the single most pedantic group of people in the universe*.

So raise a glass and drink a toast to that most Federalist of toasts: Free Trade and Sailor's Rights!

Also here is a link to minis on David's site, because this is a minis page and there should be minis.

*: Right after hard core Star Trek fans.

[Westfalia Chris]

In 1812, Madison was mad,
He was the president, you know
He thought he’d tell the British where they ought to go
He thought he’d invade Canada,
He thought that he was tough
Instead we went to Washington....
And burned down all his stuff!

And the White House burned, burned, burned,
And we’re the one’s that did it!
It burned, burned, burned,
While the president ran and cried.
It burned, burned, burned,
And things were very historical.
And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies
Waa waa waah!
In the War of 1812!

::

Just jesting, of course.

[PeteMurray]

It's true! Except that it was Jefferson who kicked the whole thing off. He infamously waved off the invasion of Canada as "A mere Matter of marching."

 :roll: Good thing Americans learned that lesson.  :roll:  :cry:

[Deathwing]

I also love the War of 1812.  First, the Battle of New Orleans.  Marines, Army Regular, Pirates, Free Blacks, Hillbillies, and probably some Ninjas to boot all helped defend the city all after the peace treaty was signed.  Plus Dolly Madison is a pretty cool first lady for saving many of our most important items and documents.  And to those who delight in the burning of Washington, DC, we did ignite a good bit of Canada.  Foolish as we were about it all.

[Poliorketes]

we did ignite a good bit of Canada.  Foolish as we were about it all.

Just to light the way back home after getting lost in the dark forests, I guess

[Argonor]

For wargamers it can't be beat, because it lets you do some of the fun of Napoleonics without having to contend with the Napoleonic "experts" who have to be the single most pedantic group of people in the universe*.
b]
*: Right after hard core Star Trek fans.

 ::

I actually started my gaming career in Napoleonics (and still like it a lot) but we were a couple of friends starting out on that journey by ourselves, me being the one writing up some rules that were developed over the course of many years - until they became so fiddly that I had to scrap them.

We never joined any 'official' gaming club/community, so we did not experience the above mentioned people. I have met some historical wargamers later on who fit that description, though... allthough I think it also fits quite some (not all, of course) of the people playing Warhammer and 40K...